Chemist Developing Longer-Lasting Form of Naloxone for Opioid Overdoses

Pittsburgh’s NPR News Station 90.5 WESA reports on the research of Saadyah Averick, a chemist at Allegheny General Hospital, who is in the process of developing a longer-lasting type of naloxone. This longer-acting naloxone is intended to be gentler and work longer, to prevent the rare occurrence in which naloxone doesn’t last long enough and causes the patient to become unconscious. Averick is currently testing the modified polymer molecules on mice in the lab. While this medication may prove beneficial in some cases, overdose prevention project coordination Alice Bell shares that this longer-lasting naloxone would not need to be used in standard overdoses:

“I’m sure there’s some particular overdose cases where this might be useful,” said Bell, “but I would not see this as something that should be generally used in opioid overdose cases.”

Learn more about Averick’s research here, or find doctors who specialize in opioid addiction treatment in the Pittsburgh area.